February 28, 2012
Chardonnay 2010
By any measure, 2010 was an exceptional growing year for grapes in
Virginia. The summer was hot and dry,
but the field was well charged with water from abundant Spring rains. The fruit was harvested in excellent
condition, and made our best Chardonnay yet.
The vines are among the oldest on the property (initially planted in
1999, with extensive replanting in 2003).
The fruit was entirely estate produced, and these mature vines are
giving us a consistent, flavorful, nuanced Chardonnay. Several years ago we realized that we were
able to get a fully ripened chardonnay with excellent fruit characteristics
without having a high alcohol level that would necessitate oak addition. Consequently, we moved to making a non oaked
(all stainless steel) Chardonnay, and have never looked back! I think that this is our best effort yet, and
hope that you will enjoy it as much as we have.
Cabernet Franc 2009
Cabernet Franc is the classic Virginia red grape. It was initially chosen by Virginia Vineyards
as a Bordeaux varietal that could create a big red wine. Cabernet Franc ripens 2 weeks earlier than
Cabernet Sauvignon, and can be more predictably harvested fully ripe before the
Autumn rains arrive. As we have made Cabernet Franc through the years,
we have come to the realization that Cabernet Franc works best in a softer,
claret style. We use it the same way
that others would use a Pinot Noir, enjoying it with more subtle and complex
meals. We like the way the strawberry
fruit flavors come forward associated with soft tannins. To create this blend we combined Cooper
Vineyards Cabernet Franc with fruit from Mt. Juliet Vineyards. Rigorous, individual barrel selection combined
to make this quintessential Cabernet Franc.
Cooper
Vineyards is known for Norton. Our
Norton vines were the first we planted, and we love growing the grape and
making the wine. Norton was first
hybridized by Dr. Daniel Norton in Richmond in 1820. It is a New World grape, and was Virginia’s
first varietal to achieve international recognition. Our approach to Norton has been to try to
achieve a fruit forward, friendly, drinkable wine that appeals to more than
simply Norton aficionados. The
hallmarks of our approach to vinifying Norton can be summarized as follows : (1)
Get ripe fruit. We let the fruit hang the longest of any of
our grapes so that we can achieve full flavor development and ripeness. (2) Handle the fruit gently. We do not pump any must with Norton, but
destem using gravity into fermentation
bins, do manual punch downs, then dejuice the fermented wine and transfer the
solids to the press by hand (yes, one 5 gallon bucket at a time. Check out our biceps at the end of
harvest!). (3) Use appropriate yeasts to
elicit the exuberant flavors and soft tannins.
(4) Age in Virginia Oak.
Tradition has it that Norton cannot tolerate much new oak. We have found that good Norton fruit is
enhanced by new Virginia Oak Barrels, and incorporate them appropriately.
Once a year we have a Norton vertical tasting (which will be held this year on March 10th). We open all of our old vintages going back to 2001. We have been impressed by how even the older vintages maintain their quality and exuberant fruit without signs of decline. We hope you enjoy this effort, which has obtained our “Reserve” classification.
Once a year we have a Norton vertical tasting (which will be held this year on March 10th). We open all of our old vintages going back to 2001. We have been impressed by how even the older vintages maintain their quality and exuberant fruit without signs of decline. We hope you enjoy this effort, which has obtained our “Reserve” classification.
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